Elisi Yona (Grandmother Bear)
When I began doing shows at the Native Youth center, without fail there was an Indigenous veteran who would stop by my booth, looking for pieces with bears. I hadn’t yet created such a piece, but after the third time, I set out to create something specifically for the next time she came by.
What struck me about this woman was her personality. She had some sort of knee issue, scooting about on her bright red mobile scooter, and she was perhaps half a foot shorter than me, but you could tell from the way she carried herself she had presence. She also cussed like no one’s business. She was stellar.
“At rest” is probably the most prominent feeling I got from her, because every time I saw her she gave me the impression that once she started moving toward something she had set her eyes on, she would be near impossible to stop—very much like a bear.
The linework in this piece is intentionally lighter than the black of the fur because I wanted to imply a sort of weight and power along with a sort of lighter approachability.
While white is the traditional color of peace (the white council governed in times of peace), I chose to use blue for its soothing aura and then red for the energy and her combat background. Hidden in the belly of the bear is the Cherokee word for “bear,” pronounced “yo-nah.”